Her Merchant of Death
by PortugueseChicka
Summary: Tony was left for dead in that Siberian bunker. His last moments were spent feeling alone and betrayed before he took his final breath. But the fates weren't having any of it.
1. Chapter 1: Abandoned, yet Found

A/N: As a heads up, this is very much a Team Iron Man fic, and it is not Team Cap friendly. This is my way if a fix it fic for me! The main pairing is Tony/Loki with a sprinkle of Tony/Mistress Death in there.

**Chapter 1: Abandoned, yet Found.**

_"That shield doesn't belong to you! You don't deserve it! My father made that shield!"_

His last words echoed in his head as he continued to stare at the empty space Steve was standing in just a few minutes ago. Steve? No. Rogers. If he ever managed to make it out of this alive, he would try his fucking hardest to never have to interact with him again.

_"But he's my friend."_

_"So was I."_

He should have known it would come down to this. After the years of constant blame being put on him, the belittling, and their sheer idiocy, it was bound to come to a head. But like this? The look of rage as Rogers used his super human strength to bash his shield through the armour into his very human, non super soldier chest was something Tony wouldn't soon forget.

He coughed and wheezed as he felt, what he assumed was, blood trickle down his chin. Sharp pain exploded in his chest as he tried to take a deeper breath in. Any movement he made doubled his pain. He tried moving his arms but the weight of his armour and the weakness from blood loss prevented him from moving more than his fingers.

This is it. He thought to himself. This is how I die. He let out a short wheezed breath and he drifted in and out of consciousness.

_"Iron man - yes, Tony Stark - no." _

_"When I ordered that hit on you..." _

_"Big man in a suit of armour. Take that away and what are you?" _

_"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one that crumbles from within, that's dead. Forever." _

All Tony felt was pain and cold. Pain from years of abuse from all those close to him. His father, his team, his friends. Pain from being beaten down by a man, who he thought was a friend. He was done. Done being the scapegoat they needed to rest all their blame on, done being the punching bag that took their insults. And now? Now he was just pissed.

His eyes felt increasingly heavy, as he struggled to keep them open. Breathing had become more difficult as time went one, and the chances of making his way out were getting slimmer with every strangled breath. If he did miraculously make his way out of this place alive, then there would be hell to pay, because he was Tony fucking Stark, and he just needed to hold out just a little longer. FRIDAY had thankfully emergency broadcasted his location to Pepper, Rhodey and Vision before the suit went offline, so it was only a matter of time.

'It wasn't only a matter of time,' he repeated to himself, like a mantra. Tony's eyes drifted close with another wheezing breath.

_"But one that crumbles from within, that's dead. _

_Forever." _

"He's coding!"

* * *

Cold.

Wet.

Weightless.

That was all he could register when he came to. It started with a tingling in his fingers, and the barest of movements that caused small ripples in the water around his hands. He felt like he was floating for hours as he tried to get himself to open his eyes, and get a sense of what was happening.

_"Anthony.."_

He heard a whisper, calling to him, beckoning. Another twitch, another ripple in the water.

_"My sweet Anthony, I'm here.."_

He felt arms wrap around his torso that pulled him, as if he weighed nothing, out of the water he somehow found himself in. Suddenly the water was replaced with earth and Tony could feel himself coming to.

"My Merchant of Death, I'm terribly sorry that we had to meet so soon."

Tony jolted up at that old moniker that was given to him. He hissed at the pain he could feel in his chest and the cold that had seemed to seep into his bones. His dark eyes met the white eyes of the figure in front of him. Her skin so pale, it looked almost translucent. They seemed to be in a clearing, but it was so dark out he couldn't make out more than a few trees around them. He could see a river, where he assumed he was found, where bodies floated along, unaware. His breath hitched, trying to recall how he came to be there.

"Where am I? What's going on? The last thing I remember was..."

"Was that fool of a Captain murdering the only chance the realms had of defeating Thanos?"

Tony blinked.

Murdered.

His thoughts drifted to Pepper and Rhodey, Happy, and oh god, poor Peter. He felt the darkness closing in, his breath quickening and coming out in short, sharp puffs of air.

"No. That can't be. I had so much still to do! And what I saw through that portal. That's coming isn't it? And there's nothing I can do about it. They're all going to fucking die." He choked out.

"Breathe my sweet." The woman in front of him placed a cold hand on his cheek, "we don't have much time so listen quick."

Tony steadied his breathing, and grasped at the hand on his cheek keeping it in place. The woman gave him a small smile in return.

"You were always so smart, always looking out for that so called team of yours, while they constantly used, undermined, and criticized your every action. You were right about what you saw through that portal, even though no one bothered to care for your concerns."

Anger quickly replaced her soft features as she bit back a snarl. "Thanos and his armies are coming, and the realms are not prepared. The Mad Titan feels that he can appease me by unnecessarily killing billions of people and he is so lost in this so called love for me that he's willing to cause a massacre. While I do welcome death, I will not stand by while he rips the lives away from those who's time has not yet come. Everyone has a time, my dear Anthony, and we must respect that."

"Charge to 200!"

Tony felt his body flicker, as a bright light clouded his vision for a quick second before he once again met the eyes of the woman in front of him.

"Yes, it is almost time. You will return to the land of the living my Merchant but first hear my request. There are forces at play here who have put their faith in you, and I am not one to go against Fate. I will help you in anyway that I can, and I can give you the power you will need to defeat the Mad Titan. You are much to strong willed to be just a mortal, and I plan to rectify that. So long as you are willing to help me when the need arises, I will continue to support you. Is that clear?"

Tony nodded, any questions or witty remarks lodged in the back of his throat as he struggled to form any coherent sentence.

"I know it's a lot my sweet. But I will be here. Once you are back to your realm, you must work quickly, and diligently to come up with a plan and a team to prevent the worst from happening. Be careful whom you align yourself with, and do not listen to the those that left you for dead, for they will be your downfall. You will rest and recover my sweet, and as soon as you are alone, back at your residence, just simply call out for me and I will appear. Then we can begin."

"How do I call for you? What do you go by?"

The mysterious woman before him leant forward, and placed a light kiss on his forehead. As she pulled away, she grabbed his hands in hers and her porcelain features were graced a smirk that could rival his.

"Mistress Death"

"Charge to 300!"

* * *

A/N: Just testing the waters with this first chapter, but I have some awesome plans moving forward. This hasn't been beta'd, so bear with me and any grammatical errors. I tried to catch them all! This has been cross posted to AO3 as well!

Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2: Pain and Regrowth

A/N: Thank you all so much for all the support in the first chapter! I'm honestly blown away, I was so nervous to post this, but I'm so glad I did! Just a quick note, and internal dialogue will be represented 'like this'. See the end of the chapter for more notes

**Chapter 2: Pain and Regrowth**

_Beep._

_Beep._

The soft sounds of leaves rustling in the wind and the currents of the river were replaced by hushed whispers and harsh beeps. His whole body felt numb, and weighed down and he was surrounded in darkness. His eyelids felt so heavy, and no matter how much he tried he could not pry them open. He could feel the tubes assisting him, and the cotton of the sheets surrounding him. A light tingle on his forehead and a soft warmth encasing his left hand made a feeling of calm wash over him. Yet all he could manage was the light twitch of his finger

"Oh my god, Tony!" 'Pepper..'

Her voice felt like it was miles away, and all he wanted to do was to reach out to know she was actually there, but his body wouldn't cooperate. He tried to call out to her but the words wouldn't come out, something was keeping him from speaking. He could feel himself gagging at the intrusion.

"He's fighting the breathing tube, that's a good sign Ms. Potts." He could feel the pressure leaving his throat. "Tony, take a deep breath, you're okay. We're here for you."

He took a deep breath, sterile air filling his lungs. He could feel the numbness ebb away with each breath, as he grasped at the hand holding his.

Pain.

With the absence of numbness, he could feel in his bones, what the damage of fighting two super soldiers had done and it had been blinding. He let out a guttural scream as he felt like he was on fire. The pain was radiating from his chest, and pooling at this extremities. He thrashed around, as he tried to escape the pain he was feeling. The physical pain that was so great, that he wished he was still by the river side with his Mistress, Death. He could feel a slight warmth at his forehead, as he sobbed, his eyes squeezed shut in agony. He could feel himself drifting away into the darkness again, with the sounds of rustling leaves and a river current surrounding his being.

_Beep._

_Beep._

"We had no other choice"

"I understand that Dr. Cho. I just worry how Tony will react when he realizes."

The voice let out a soft sigh.

"Dr. Cho. Please. Be honest with me. Will he wake up?"

"I'm sorry. I don't have a definitive answer for you. All we can do now is make sure he's comfortable Ms. Potts."

After a moment of silence, Tony could hear some shuffling as the warmth encasing his left hand returned. He felt as if he was floating and that hand was the only thing keeping him grounded.

"I'm so sorry Tony. I'm sorry I wasn't there. FRIDAY, she... She showed me the footage from the suit from Siberia. They're not getting away with with this." Pepper let out a sob. "Come back to us Tony, we need you."

'I'm sorry Pepper, I can't. Not yet...'

_Beep._

_Beep._

'Boss?'

FRIDAY? How could he hear her? He was stuck floating between awareness and darkness with no way of interacting with anyone, not even his Mistress, not even Pepper. How?

'I can help you with your confusion Boss. From my surveillance it appears that when you awoken last, you were succumbing to your injuries. I decided it was in your best interests to initial Protocol: Final Straw.'

Extremis. No. No.

It was never meant to come to that. Especially not in the way that it had. Not because of Rogers.

In the darkness, he could see a faint blue light that pulsated with every syllable that FRIDAY said.

'Was integration successful FRIDAY?'

'Yes Boss. I have currently erected a temporary firewall, to avoid being overloaded with data until I could connect with you.'

In the face of adversity, Tony knew he had take Extremis, and mould it in a way that would benefit his, and Mistress Deaths plans. No matter how troubled he was.

'Looking after your old man, baby girl?'

'Someone has too, Boss'

'I can always count on you, FRI. So, how long have I been out for?'

'It appears to have been nine weeks and two days. You had a lot of people worried about you, Boss. They wanted to make sure you would come back to us.'

You have no idea, he thought as he pictured the face of his Mistress, and her words. He felt a confidence surge in him, as his forehead tingled at the thought of her. He would no longer be used, or belittled again. They would rue the day they tried to use him like they did before, because this Tony Stark, is a new man. He wouldn't take their shit any longer.

'FRIDAY, drop the firewall.' 'Yes, Boss.'

He was flooded with codes, links, and images. News articles, stocks and videos from the last 9 weeks entered his mind. It would take a while to sort through the flood of information but his baby girl and him made a marvellous team and he'd be back to himself soon enough. Now that extremis had made him a technopath, he had so much opportunity for rectifying his past decisions, and showing Rogers and the merry band of idiots that he was so over their bullshit.

'Let's do this FRIDAY.'

—

Another three weeks went by in a blur. Tony had not yet regained consciousness and Pepper was beside herself in worry. She found herself once again working at Tony's bedside in the late hours, with Rhodey sleeping on a cot on the other side of the room. Stark Industries wasn't going to run itself, and there was no way she would let it suffer in the wake of tragedy. She felt like she had no control in Tony's situation, and she needed to feel like she was helping and in control of something in this distressing time. The only way she felt that she could do that was through continuing his work with Stark Industries.

The past four months were spent either at SI Tower in board meetings, or beside Tony working diligently on her StarkPad. After she read through yet another R&D Department proposal, she put down her tablet and curled up in the all too familiar armchair she found herself in, to try to get some sleep before her meeting in the morning.

—

'It's time, my love. Awaken and face the world. They have no idea what you have planned for them. I will be waiting for your call.'

He could feel a hand lightly cup his cheek at the words. He was finally ready.

_Beep._

_Beep._

He slowly opened his eyes, and took account of his surroundings. In the low light, he could see Pepper at his left side, her hand covering his own, curled up with a thin blanket. A smile tugged at his lips, knowing that she was still at his side. He also saw a cot at this right side with a sleeping Rhodey. He felt a pang of guilt as he saw the wheelchair parked beside it.

'FRIDAY, make sure Honey Bear has priority on our work list.' 'Done Boss!'

While he was working through his new found ability of connecting to the internet and any form of technology, he had started a list of tasks that he needed to address and rectify. The first being updating the Accords. He had refreshed himself on what the original document entailed and what needed changing. Nothing had changed in the four months that he had been comatose, and he itched to make new amendments and clauses. Next on his list, was to make Rhodey walk again, because he'd be damned if he would allow the Rogues to cause anymore continued pain to those around him.

The Rogues. That's what the media had been calling them. Thanks to Pepper advocating for him to the public while he was healing, favour had been on his side during the 'Civil War'. It had appeared that the Rogues had been keeping a low profile, and the only sightings had been rumoured. Tony planned to change that. With what he and FRIDAY had been working on, he knew that the Rogues, and especially Rogers, would be too proud to stay silent and in the shadows on the matter. And he welcomed it. Actually he craved it.

He took a deep breath in, with no complication or pain. He could barely remember the last time he breathed so clearly, which was before Afghanistan.

'FRIDAY, run a full diagnostic. How has Extremis affected my injuries?'

'It appears that you are injury free. All possible damage that could be healed, repaired itself within the first day. Your body appears to be operating at an optimal level, comparable to that of a mid twenty year old.'

'Well baby girl, it seems that extremis seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. I'm really fully healed?'

'Extremis healed all possible damage. However, there was one injury you sustained that could not be healed.'

Tony used his new found abilities to access the hospital servers and pulled up his medical files. He was not prepared for what he had seen. A punctured lung, extensive chest wall damage, brain bleed, broken bones, and severe frostbite. He cycled through X-rays, MRI scans and doctors notes. Then he found it. He felt all colour drain from his face, as his breaths started coming out in short, quick gasps.

'Boss, it is 3:54am, you are in the intensive care wing at New York Presbyterian, is it currently 72 degrees Fahrenheit. It is 3:45am, you in the...'

FRIDAYs voice faded as his own frantic thoughts took over. Nerve damage from the frostbite he suffered in his right hand was too severe, he read. He squeezed his eyes in fear, not wanting to see the result.

Please, he internally begged. Please don't let Rogers take yet another thing away from me.

He once again opened his eyes and forced himself to look down his arm. His arm was atop the blankets wrapped in bulky gauze and bandages, and his eyes stopped where is hand should have been. He started feeling light headed, as his breath started to quicken.

"No.. no. Fuck"

All the emotions he had felt sitting at the bunker in Siberia came rushing forward, as if a dam had broke. Hurt, abandonment, and low self worth. He had felt so in control in his mind, with FRIDAY, and working on extremis, that the weight of what happened never fully sunk in. And then seeing his arm, seemed to break the cord that was keeping it all together. He was angry at Rogers, and the Rogues for making him feel this way, and he was angry at himself for letting them.

"Shhhh Tony, you're alright. I'm here." "Pep.."

Tony could feel that he was being rocked back and forth gently by Pepper as he struggled to control his breathing. She had been awoken by his panic attack and wrapped herself around him, trying to whisper soothing words in his ear. He wrapped his arm around around her waist, pulling her closer and let himself feel those emotions one last time. He sobbed into her shoulder as she rubbed comforting circles on his back. This would be the last time he would allow them to make him feel this way, because next time? Next time it will be them.

A/N: Well that was an emotional roller coaster! In my chapter planning I had aimed for like three different plot points to happen, but only got through one haha. As I started writing, I decided that I wanted to focus on the emotional back and forth, of feeling confident, and determined, to broken and then pissed. Let me know what you think of this one!


End file.
